


Cages

by Lt_Kickbutt



Category: RWBY
Genre: First Meetings, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Pre-Canon, Searching for Feedback
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 10:43:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6281452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lt_Kickbutt/pseuds/Lt_Kickbutt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story was simply a practice couple of chapters to try to get feedback. I have posted the same story, along with more chapters, and will be updating that at this link:</p><p> </p><p>http://archiveofourown.org/works/6484762/chapters/14842078</p><p>Cages is now the name of the series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cages

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at an OC and I have been researching and talking to RWBY OC writers who have been nice enough to get me to understand the many potential pitfalls. What I was told is all in this reddit post if you want to look:
> 
> https://www.reddit.com/r/RWBYOC/comments/4ap4vj/a_start_of_an_oc_story_and_need_some_advice/
> 
> I'm not trying to prove them wrong or spite them with this story at, in fact I am so concerned about what they told me I am posting my opening here even though I wanted to complete the story in full before posting. So I am looking for feedback on these pitfalls in OC writing, what works, what doesn't. Also remember this is the beginning so I can fix and tweak any problems and flesh out confusing ideas in later chapters
> 
> Here are some things that I am concerned about that you could be thinking about as you read:
> 
> Does Ivan seem like a Mary Sue character to you? What is the most "Mary Sue" moment I can work on (I think I know what you are going to think), is the idea irredeemably Mary Sue/OP or could it just be tweaked?
> 
> The use of magic in Remnant. I take some liberties in my use of magic and I know RWBY hasn't fleshed out the capabilities of magic at all. It revolves around nature magic, also some minor spells that just make the scene easier. You'll see them. Is the magic okay? 
> 
> The scene where Ivan and Winter meet. It's kind of a spoiler to know they're going to be meeting from the start but oh well. One of the concerns of the OC writers was not to tangle my OC in with too much cannon characters, so does their meeting make sense logically? Does Winter act according to character? She is quite a bit younger but just be candid if you think its off.
> 
> Finally, is this a premise you personally would want to read more about? I have huge plans for this fic but it does revolve around the idea of Ivan with a bit of grim control and semblance being to morph parts of his body into grim enhanced parts. I can see this premise can be absolutely ridiculous if poorly done, and too strong if its even done right without a proper antagonist. I have thought about this in my own fic, if you think the same go ahead and tell me! I'm still going to write it, just try to do it better. My goals with this fic is a different interpretation of Ironwood, a look at the Schnee family, my interpretation of the seasonal Maidens, and a look into Grim lore.
> 
> Does the name Ivan work for RWBY name rules? I know its not in this story because he isn't a huntman yet but his color is going to be ivory so his name is a play on that. 
> 
> Your comments don't have to a solution to the problem, its enough for me to just know your opinion. If you want to share a solution to a problem you see go right ahead, I will take it seriously.
> 
> Is grim capitalized? I seriously don't know. Don't worry about grammar problems though, that's the only one.

The Atlas military surrounded the small village on the Northern edge of the island of Atlas. Four hundred miles from the kingdom the snow caped mountains and the harsh, half frozen sea had kept the village hidden from the rest of the world for generations. The grim that roamed these mountains had grown larger and intensely territorial from lack of human interaction, and the biting winds had made their skin like steel.  Even the most elite team of specialists Atlas had ever produced, led by the newly titled General James Ironwood, struggled mightily with defeating these grim. As the teams pressed into the snow covered village, weapons at the ready, and dressed in winter camo their instincts convinced them that these villagers would be considerably dangerous.

At the lead General Ironwood stopped with his fist raised. Murmurs of disbelief resonated through the party as these stoic soldiers could not believe their eyes. At the village center of maybe a dozen buildings the ground was lush and green, completely snow free. While not even forty feet away the tops of their buildings bowed under the weight of snow and ice. The grounds were walked by six figures of human height who seemed to be going about a normal conversation, but all were dressed in the same black robes with red grim markings down the length.

James’ eyes narrowed, “This must be magic. Ozpin was right.” General Ironwood gave the signal and initiated their prepared plan. Dropping all of his weapons he took off his mask and large coat as he walked forward, arms raised in the air. Meanwhile his subordinates dropped to the snow, camouflaged as they covered their general.

One of the robed figures head raised and removed their hood. A long, black ponytail cascaded from her robe as she did so. A young looking woman, in her mid-twenties with pale green eyes grinned at the general and beckoned him closer into the group. Obliging James took his first step into the snow free circle and onto their stone walkway, surrounded by green grass and colorful flowers. The temperature around him rose significantly to his own ideal temperature, a cool fifty-eight degrees.

James dropped his coat, took off his gloves, exposing his metal right arm and hand, and stretched out the collar of his t-shirt to get some of the lovely breeze. The entire group of six unveiled themselves each with a smile. To James’ surprise there was not a single uniform trait between the six of them, all different skin colors, hair color, eye color, four men and two women.

“That’s quite alright general, get as comfortable as you wish” The raven haired woman with green eyes spoke for the group with a smile, “Maybe you want to beckon your subordinates in here as well, to enjoy the warm weather.”

“Do you know why I am here?”

“Of course. I imagine Sophia made it to Atlas then? How did she fair the trip? Is she safe and healthy?”

“Yes. She is under our care now and well. She claims the boy’s power kept the grim at bay. The only member of your village to ever escape to the kingdom. She has adapted to Kingdom life well and is happier for it.”

“We are glad for her then.” The group continued smiling, not making any sudden movements as to provoke the ambush party, “My name is Illiandra. You have come to the right place, of course, but your motive is unfounded.”

“Illegal use of magic seems to be well founded, I don’t even have to search.”

“But you’ve already decided to search. For the boy.”

“So you do have a young prisoner here?”

“Yes. I can save you the trouble and we can go to him now. Signal your subordinates we are moving.” Raising his right hand the reflection of the sun off the metal shone brightly, giving the signal to stand down. The men sat up but none moved any closer, as the plan dictated, and they began to shovel off a spot to set up camp and fire.

Illiandra led the group as they flanked around Ironwood and walked towards the edge of the green area. As her stepping foot hovered over the snow the green expanded and instantly melted away the cold. As she walked Illiandra spoke calmly, “Remnant provides for us here general. Natural geography provides protection from outside forces, magic allows nature to provide food in the harshest weather, and for the grim that encroach our boarders…nature has provided us with the ability to keep them at bay as well.”

Peering ahead of the group General Ironwood noticed the mouth of a cave they were walking directly for. James’ heart started to pound and adrenalin coursed through the left side of his body. Outwardly he remained calm for his escorts as they approached the dark pass.

“Ivan. That’s what we call him. A word of importance whose full meaning has been lost to time. In a darker tongue it very roughly translates into cycle.” The group stopped at the entrance to the cave, “From here only you and I will enter.” Illiandra turned to the robed members of her group with a bow of her head, “Thank you brothers and sister. Wait for us back at the village.” The group returned her bow and silently turned around.

Entering the cave Illiandra raised her right hand and it burst into a bright light which enveloped her palm and illuminated their path. The path went on for as far as the general could see and Illiandra resumed explaining, “Over the generations there have been many Ivans. Male and Female, each with the unique ability to commune with the grim, to sate their urge to kill, or even outright control them. That is what Ivan provides for us general, protection from the grim.”

As the pair pushed forward and the light illuminated more of the dark a high pitched voice of a child groaned from the end of the path. James’ hair stood on end as the left side of his body shuddered with chills. His nostrils flared as he internalized the story Illiandra gave him, failing to hide his panic.

“Steel yourself general. Try not to make any sudden movements as Ivan has never seen another human other than myself.” At the end of the cave were a series of metal bars pinning off the last of the space. Illiandra lifted her hand to the bars and inside a shuddering child, no older than ten years old, was laying in a fetal position. Turning his head around his eyes were the crimson red of the grim and stared at the pair with a confused look.

The general eyed the boy up and down; his head was shaven completely, he wore a ratty white shirt, marred from the soot of the cave, and a pair of shorts. Looking at the boy’s bare corner of the cave with not so much of a mat to lie on Ironwood rang his fingers along the bars feeling the teeth marks across each of them.

“Hello Ivan.” Illiandra crouched down to his level still smiling. Getting up with a lunge Ivan collided with the bars in a rage, reaching his malnourished arm through the bars swinging wildly. For the first time Illiandra’s smile dropped but she let him continue. General Ironwood’s eye’s widened as the boy’s arm slowly turned black, starting at his fingers, turning them into claws, crawling up his arm, enveloping his chest and neck, and finally the left side of his face. Ironwood’s jaw dropped as he beheld the miracle looking at his own robotic arm and back to the boy.

Reaching into the bars with his metal hand Ivan reached out and grabbed it with his transformed hand. The steel groaned as the boy squeezed and began to fold. Ironwood swung with all his might and flung Ivan off of his arm, staring wordlessly as the crinkled arm.

“Haunting isn’t it?” Illiandra placed her free hand on Ironwood’s metal one and she kneaded her fingers into the metal as if it were flesh, as if she were consoling him.

Ironwood jumped back in an absolute panic causing Ivan to frenzy. “I…I felt your touch.” Ironwood rubbed his metal hand with his own but felt nothing.

Returning to a smile she answered, “We are all of this earth, James. Flesh, stone, metal, and the grim. You and Ivan are split into halves, but where magic is concerned it is all the same.” Staring down at his hands Ironwood compared the two realizing how very little he understood of magic. He thought of Ozpin wondering how many more years of preparation would it take just to catch up, how long before he could even understand this hidden power of Remnant, much less use it.

 “Sophia asked me to come and retrieve and retrieve her son, and now I know why.”

Illiandra let out a dry laugh before she answered, “Is that what she told you? Ivan is not her son, Ivan is not any of ours, Ivan is a force of nature. A tool we harness that allows us to survive to the next generation.”

Ivan’s struggling had died down considerably as James calmed down. “And if I decide to take him by force anyway?”

Pushing his luck General Ironwood bet it all on this and tensely waited for a reaction from Illiandra. Their discussion earlier convinced him that he could not sneak up on the village, but maybe they had no way of defending themselves except for Ivan.

“You would be condemning us to death.”

“I was given that authority before I even left, and prepared myself to do so.”

“Such a burden, to have to decide the lives of people you’ll never fully understand.”

“Release Ivan to me now or my men will storm the village.” Ironwood threatened the green eyed girl with two metal fingers pointed at her chest.

Pulling a necklace with an ancient looking key attached from under her robe Illiandra slid it into the keyhole to the door. “At least here we understood what he was. He will grow old in your kingdom but never be accepted. Their fear and hate will be too much for him. He will ask you one day, what he is, and you’ll have to tell him you killed the only ones who knew.”

The door crept open and Ivan made a dash into the corner. Illiandra entered and got a hold of the boy’s shoulders. He howled and tried to look away but with another wave of her hand she pressed her palm against his eyes. His howling turned into a shriek before he fainted in his arms. She carried him out and handed him into the general’s arms.

“No goodbye?”

“I never loved him. He hated me. I only took care of him because his necessity required me to.” She placed a hand on the boy’s cheek, “He won’t be accepted for what he is, but…maybe all he needs is one person to love him. If there is a goodbye to be had I would tell him he is now all that is left of our village, and to represent us as nobly as possible. If you want to tell him something someday, tell him that.”

The pair exited in silence and trekked back to the center of the village. Seeing what the general held in his arms the villagers swiftly fled to their homes. Illiandra escorted the general back to the edge of the village.

“Our magic stops here. The grim will be coming in a matter days, when they figure out Ivan isn’t influencing them.” Tears welled up in Illiandra’s eyes, “I never saw him as a human, but now he has the chance to be more human than any of us. I think that’s what Sophia wants.” James took a step forward into the harsh cold of northern Atlas with Ivan wrapped under his coat.

Quickly surrounded by his men they escorted the general to the camp, “Pack it up, we are leaving now. They surrendered.” The teams bundled up for the long journey back, putting Ivan into warm clothes and sedating him again. The huntsmen steeled themselves for the trek back to the extraction point, they fully expected to encounter more of these incredible grim on the way.

Two hours into their retreat Ivan jolted awake in the generals arms. He howled at the light of the sun and pressed his head against James’ breast. He shook uncontrollably as his brown eyes turned crimson. Opening his mouth he bore fangs that resembled Beowolves’ as he searched the area.

“That kid is freaking out General. I can prepare more sedative.”

“Give it a minute. I want to see this. Stay on alert, I think he can sense incoming grim.” The teams squared up with a yes general drawing their weapons and proceeded with caution. Sure enough a pack of eight Beowolves came hurdling towards the group from the other side of the ridge. These were massive Beowolves with hardened bone plating around their weak points. Taking up a defensive position the teams broke the charge of the creatures and claw and steel clashed. Holding Ivan in one arm Ironwood unloaded oversized dust charged bullets into the heads of the Beowolves. One took two across the jaw before its head exploded and its body fell limp.

Rolling out of Ironwood’s arm Ivan fell into the snow his head and neck began to change to the black color of the grim, his arms and legs elongated tearing through his warm coat, and his fingers turned to claws as they ripped through his gloves. Both huntsman and grim paused at the sight and when Ivan opened his eyes and the attacking Beowolves cringed and slowly backed up. Ivan charged with the powerful legs of a Beowolf and jumped, landing directly before the attackers. Two immediately turned and ran but the remaining three attacked him back.

Heaving against the strain Ivan grappled the arm and neck off of one the Beowolves and shook violently as he began to separate the beast’s arm from the rest of his body. His black muscles flaring beyond their years the other Beowolves clawed open gashes on the transformed boy’s body until he successfully ripped away its arm and turned it on the head in of the de-armed attacker. Wasting no time on his second victim Ivan lunged and bit his teeth down into the beast’s neck, shattering the thick bone that covered it. Overpowering the grim Ivan skewered his claws into it and dragged it the ground.

The final beast moved to attack but Ivan held his hand up in its face. Ironwood’s jaw dropped as the once rabid boy had a presence of complete control. A few of the huntsmen fell to their knees as this freak child they have been risking their lives for walked forward causing the Beowolf to cower further and further before it finally ran off.

“GRAB HIM!” The teams of huntsmen unloaded rounds of bullets into the boy expecting an aura to protect him but their bullets pierced and he fell to the ground. Ironwood walked over to collect him as he passed out, “I am sorry Ivan, but I need you.”

Returning to Atlas with a bandaged but healing Ivan Ironwood kept the boy close to him. As they landed at the military base where Sophia waited the team of doctors ran out to greet them and take Ivan to her.

Ivan shook like a leaf as Ironwood walked him through the camp. Loud machines, boisterous conversation, the team of doctors surrounding him, and Ironwood’s firm metal hand on his shoulder kept him on edge. Approaching Sophia’s room in the hospital ward Ironwood peered through the window to see the girl sleeping, her body facing the opposite direction. Opening the door he walked Ivan to the side of her bed and waited for a reaction. Ivan’s glances around the room eventually stopped on the girl, but he simply crouched down into a ball.

Crouching with him Ironwood tried to talk to the boy, “Ivan. This is your mother, Sophia. Do you remember her?” Ivan protested and snarled as Ironwood took his hand and dragged it to the girl’s bare shoulder. With a touch Sophia began to turn black as the grim, she didn’t move, she didn’t speak, and as the dark enveloped her skin Ironwood spun around called the doctors outside.

Rushing in they straightened her out, checked her pulse, and tried to get her to wake, but as they performed their emergency procedures Sophia’s now completely black body began to crumble away and drift off into the air.

The doctors panicked as they had no response but Ironwood trembled wide eyed as he has seen this hundreds of times before. With every grim he has slain their body turned to dust and evaporated before his eyes just like this.

 

\--------

 

Ivan stared out the open window into the sunny Atlas summer day. Wearing shorts and a t-shirt with a cartoon character on it Ivan watched the Atlas soldiers run. The sounds of an Atlas regiment running laps echoed through the air. Drill whistles made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, but Ivan grinned and soaked up the sun. His body had not yet caught up with all the new experiences in this world and just about everything would make his heart race. The door opened behind him and Ivan’s head snapped around.

Stepping through the doorway General Ironwood spoke, “Morning Ivan. How did you sleep?”

Ivan shrugged as he answered, “I keep waking up because of noises.” Ironwood walked slowly over to the window Ivan sat at and the boy turned around with a smile, “I saw a star out the window. But it was moving.” He pointed out into the sky and moved his finger along, “Is that normal?”

“Yes that is quite normal. It’s a shooting star.”

“Thank you for the window room. I like it.”

“It is much nicer than your last room.” Ironwood watched the boy fidget as the chirping of birds amazed him, “Your doctor says you are ready to leave the hospital, go to a real home.”

“Leave? Like before?”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere. So I will still be there. And other people will be there too. Remember my friend from before? Schroder? You’re going to go live at his home. His home has so many windows, nice food, and a nice bed for you.”

General Ironwood opened a manila folder he carried into the room with him, “Here. Look at these.” Ironwood held out a birth certificate and a citizenship card, “These pieces of paper make it so you are a full citizen of Atlas. Here, hold this, be careful.”

Ironwood handed the birth certificate to Ivan, “Ivan Ca-canoss.”

“It’s Knoss. Remember the K is silent if it comes before the N. It’s your new last name, Ivan Knoss. This says you were born eleven years ago today.”

“I don’t know how old I am.”

“Of course not. No one really does, we’re all told by someone else. And this is telling you.” Ironwood placed his hand on the boy’s shaven head, feeling the hair that’s been growing for these past four months. “The doctors say you can join a school this fall, have they told you?”

Nodding he answered, “Are the other kids like me?”

“Yes.” James answered quickly but cringed as he reconsidered, “Well, not like that. I mean…you are special Ivan, but if you go to school, learn as much as you can, and try to make friends you can do anything. Anything at all. So Ivan, what do you want to learn about?”

Ivan considered his answer for a moment, staring out the window before raising his right arm and watching it slowly transform to black, fingers turn to claws, and ivory colored bone spurs protrude from his arm with a straight face, “I want to learn about this.”

Stunned at the boy’s candor James’ jaw dropped and let out a tiny, uncharacteristic squeak before answering, “Me too, Ivan. Me too. But you should be more worried about making friends. You are going to need them more than anyone.”

“Speaking of wh-“

“I don’t hear them anymore.” Ivan interrupted as his hand returned to human.

“Don’t…hear who anymore?”

“The Grim. They used to talk to me sometimes. Big ones used to talk to me.”

“What did they say?”

“I don’t know, Illiandra never taught me words like you do. But it wasn’t these words. They were different sounding.”

Pondering Ironwood rubbed his knees, “Right, well, just another thing to learn. Anyway, I have a friend I want you to meet today. He has a daughter, she’s a little older than you but agreed to meet you!”

Ivan’s attention broke from the window, “Meet?”

“Yes. That’s what people have to do to make friends, they go out and meet new people. And that’s what I’m making you do.”

“Okay.” His attention went back to the window as Ironwood collected the birth certificate. The scratch of the paper against its envelope made the hair on the back of Ivan’s head stand and he smiled.

“Right. So…we are leaving immediately.” Ivan slid out of his chair and landed with a plop on his sneakers. Standing up Ironwood held out his hand and the boy snatched it in his own and they walked out to the elevator to the nearby park a block away from the military base.

 

________

 

“But why does it have to be _me_ who spends time with him?” An annoyed Winter Schnee fifteen years of age paced the park walkway with hands clasped behind her back in front her father who sat on the park bench in a business suit and tie.

“You agreed to it yesterday Winter. Don’t go back on your word. And no one said you have to spend time with the boy, just for a handful of minutes today.” Winter scoffed and rolled her eyes as she took up a fencing stance against the large oak tree next to the bench and jabbed at it with an invisible sword.

“What I should be doing is practicing. I’m only one year from my graduation test, I can get better.”

“On that we agree.” Winter turned her head with a glare but swiftly gave it up when her father looked in her direction. “Winter come sit and listen for a moment.” The teenage Schnee obliged and elegantly slid into the seat next to her father and crossed her legs. “Having the ability to succeed is the most important thing, but it is not the only thing you’ll need. Networking yourself can give you a leg up on your peers. Your goal is to lead the Atlas Specialist Corps?” Winter nodded coldly, “Then there is no man more important than General Ironwood to be in good graces with.”

“Yes father.”  Winter stared at her hands in her lap, the pair fell completely silence but perked up with a smile when she heard the whistles of a drill sergeant at the camp in the distance.

Ironwood and Ivan approached the bench from behind walking side by side. “Hello Harold.” The two walked around the bench into view. Both Winter and her father eyed Ivan up and down who stared interested back at them. “And Winter!” James grinned widely, “You’ve grown so tall since last I saw you.”

“Thank you General.” Winter bowed her head slightly and stood up.

Ironwood reached out and grabbed the outstretched hand of Mr. Schnee, “It’s good to see you James.” He turned back to look at Ivan, “And this must be your friend Ivan. It must have been a few hectic months here son.” Mr. Schnee held out his hand for Ivan who just stared at it.

“Go on and grab and shake his hand like I showed you Ivan.” Ivan responded with a grin and stretched out his thin, boney arm to grab Mr. Schnee’s hand in a weak grip.

Winter stared at the exchange with a sense of disbelief. She had been told about Ivan’s situation but seeing his malnourished body, his failure for something as simple as a handshake, and how jumpy the child looked. She took a deep breath to calm down throwing her father a look.

Ironwood crouched down to Ivan’s level, “Ivan, this is my good friend Harold Schnee, and his daughter Winter. He wanted to meet you himself, he has been paying a lot to make sure you get well.”

“Thank you” Ironwood gave Ivan a quick glance, “Sir.”

Mr. Schnee let out a deep laugh which startled Winter. “Quite alright my boy, I’m excited to hear you’ll be moving out of the hospital. They tell me how smart you are! Picking up your first language in only a handful of months. You’ll be going to school in no time.” He turned to address Winter, “Winter, would you be so kind as to show Ivan around the park? This is surely his first time here. The general and I have some things to discuss.”

“Of course.”  Winter crouched down with a smile and held out her hand to grab while Ironwood took the seat next to Mr. Schnee. Ivan quietly grabbed Winter’s hand and she pulled him down the path.

“Over here is the best spot in the park.” Winter tugged on Ivan’s scrawny arm as he struggled to keep up. Winter led him over a small hill to the side of a short cliff, maybe nine feet tall, that had another oak tree growing out of it. Huffing as he came to a stop Winter dropped his hand and looked around.

“Uh oh. Nowhere to sit.” Winter examined her long white pants as Ivan went over to the tree and placed his hand on it. Rubbing his hand along the rough bark he grabbed ahold of a piece and tore it off. His eyes went wide as he turned and lifted it.

“Part of the tree. Is it okay?”

Walking over to Ivan she looked down on him smirking, “No. You need to apologize to the tree or it won’t heal!

Ivan bent over forward into a hurried bow, holding his chunk of bark up and with a raised voice, “I’m sorry Tree!”

“Have you ever seen a tree before?” Winter already knew the answer but the thought of it amazed her.

“From the window, but never up close. Not big ones.”

“Have you felt the grass? On the ground.” Ivan curled into a ball and put his palm on the ground.

“It feels familiar, maybe back before I came here.” Looking around for anyone watching Winter crouched down into a ball with smile.

“Sit on your butt.” Ivan quickly took a seat in the grass and Winter moved to his feet. Undoing the shoe laces on his sneakers she spoke, “Well Ivan. The great joy of grass is running through it barefoot.” Tugging off his shoes and socks she held her hand out and Ivan grasped it pulling him to his feet.

“How does that feel on your feet? Wiggle your toes a little.”

“Wiggle?”

“Move your toes.” Ivan’s toes wiggled in the grass and he hummed out a smile. “Okay! Run in a circle.” Ivan burst into a sloppy stride as he circled wide around Winter. He giggled a high pitch scream which made Winter burst out in a bit of a laugh.

After five or six laps Winter called out to him, “Okay slow back down speedy. Come put your shoes on.”

“I can do more!” Ivan screamed as he jumped left and right playfully in front of her watching his feet land. Getting progressively braver he took longer and longer leaps. At the limit of his ability he stumbled a landing, tangled his feet up, and fell flat on his face.

Gasping Winter ran over and flipped him around. The gaps from his missing adult teeth in his wide smile made her think of Weiss. “Be more careful! You almost took flight there. You have to catch yourself with your arms when you fall like that!”

“Flight? What does flight mean?”

“Flying. Like birds.” Winter pointed into the clear, blue sky.

“I know birds! In the sky. They come up to the window sometimes.”

“Here, watch this.” Winter took a deep breath and closed her eyes, concentrating her muscles flared and underneath her a large glyph expanded into existence. After a few moments of spinning two white, ethereal birds escaped from the glyph and landed on each of her shoulders. Winter opened her eyes with a smile to see Ivan completely stunned. She moved her hand to the left bird and let it jump onto her finger, bringing it closer to the boy.

“This is my semblance. It’s what makes me special, allows me to fight. One day I’m going to be the most well respected solider in Atlas, and not just because of my name either.” Winter’s face turned red hearing herself admit it to a child, who ignored her, completely enthralled in her bird.

“I have something that makes me special. Want to see?” Winter nodded smiling expecting a funny face or a trick. Ivan closed his eyes for a moment longer than a blink and revealed his eyes had transformed into a fierce crimson color. Falling backwards on her butt Ivan continued to transform, black crawled down his neck, down his arm, and to his hand. She crawled backwards into the cliff side as the sleeves and collar on his t-shirt ripped from his expanding muscles.

Winter trembled as Ivan took a step forward, the upper body of a grim but the same scrawny legs that couldn’t land his jump. Her ethereal birds charged Ivan as if he were a threat, crashing into his body and exploding into a puff of dust. He snarled at the sensation and threw up an arm against the cliff next to Winter’s head, pinning her place.

She grabbed onto his neck with both arms pleading, “Ivan! Please stop!” before curling up into a ball underneath him. A heated sigh came out of his fanged jaws before he returned to size with a frown on his face.

“I scared you. I’m sorry.” Ivan fell to the ground sobbing while Winter lifted her head up and looked around. “I always scare. I don’t want to scare.” Winter put a hand on his back, touching him slowly and recoiling her hand. Figuring she was safe she consoled the crying little boy, placing her steadied hand on his back and rubbing.

As Ivan continued to cry Winter spoke softly to him, “Ivan. I have something else that makes me special. In my hand is magic dust, when I touch you with it you won’t cry anymore. Ivan looked up with snot running down his nose, unable to speak through his crying. Winter touched him on his bare forehead with her other hand and Ivan’s face immediately shrank into silence as he stopped crying.

“Okay, okay. Let’s stand up.” The pair got to their feet and Ivan’s tattered shirt fell down his body. Winter picked it up, and wiped Ivan’s nose with, “Rest assured that I will never wipe your runny nose again” but she gave him a smile.

“Do you want to put your shoes on?” Ivan nodded and fell to the ground with his shoes and socks and slid them on, struggling with the knots but eventually getting it.

The pair walked back to the bench to see Ironwood and Mr. Schnee still talking. Ironwood caught a glimpse of the shirtless boy, “What happened?!”

“He…I don’t know…transformed into a-“

Ironwood stood up in a fury, “Why would you do that?!” Ivan quivered at the question and looked to burst back into tears before Winter jumped in.

“It was my fault! I may have inadvertently coaxed him into it.”

Seething and throwing glances back from Winter to Mr. Schnee, “Do you know about that?”

“No! No one told me! I just showed him my semblance. He said he could do something special. I thought he was going to make a face or do a summersault!”

Ironwood sighed turning to Mr. Schnee, “Do you know what Ivan can do?”

“I did not either. I’ve been in the dark. But it seems like something worth knowing, worth warning me about if you want _my daughter_ to spend the day with him!”

“This was a mistake.” Ironwood put his head in his head.

“It seems so.”

“NO!” Winter interrupted with a glare. “He was doing well. I may not know everything, but I did see how delightful he could be, and I can easily tell he needs to get outside more.” Winter turned her father, “Father.” She turned to Ironwood, “General. Set up a date. One more chance, at our house. I will spend more time with him.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
